So What Actually Changed?

The new draft lottery odds feature a “relegation zone” for the bottom 3 teams in the standings, with all 3 teams having an equal 5.4% chance to win the number 1 pick. Teams in the bottom 4-10 in the standings all have a flattened 8.1% chance to win the number 1 pick, with teams in the bottom 11-14 having a 5.4% chance, and teams 15-16 having a 2.7% chance. Each tier has the same exact probability for draft positioning, and are separated as follows:

1-3: Relegation Zone (5.4% chance)

4-10: Teams who miss the play-in/playoffs entirely (8.1% chance)

11-14: Teams who lose in the play-in and miss out on playoffs (5.4% chance)

15-16: The lowest seeds that lose in the first round of the playoffs (2.7% chance)

This system not only incentives teams to remain competitive through the end of the season to stay out of the bottom 3 in the standings, and avoid relegation, but also emphasizes flattened lottery odds within each tier, leaving little incentive to manipulate seeding.

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Elimination Of Tanking In March & April

This new reform should eliminate the egregious tanking and roster management that we’ve seen increasingly often in recent seasons. Concepts such as randomly rested games for star players, minute restrictions in second halves of close games in an attempt to lose, random 10 day contract players that you’ve never heard of turning into must roster players, just to name a few, will all be cut out to a nearly non-existent level.

I don’t think we need to worry about drafting players on bad teams out of fear of these implications during fantasy playoffs. In fact, I think there could be a discount on these types of players in fantasy drafts this season. Looking at a player like Lauri Markkanen, for example, who has consistently been an elite per game fantasy contributor, but has been drafted way lower in recent seasons than his per game production reflects because of his expected limitations related to tanking and draft lottery positioning towards the end of the season.

“Stashing” Players Is Less Of A Viable Strategy

In years past it has been worth rostering fringe players on bad teams who are buried on the depth chart, in hopes that the players in front of him on the depth chart will eventually be restricted and/or shut down. Kyle Filipowski is a great example of this last season in Utah where it was almost a foregone conclusion that Lauri Markkanen & Jusuf Nurkic would inevitably be shut down, and Filipowski capitalized in February and March, paying major dividends if you stashed him in January. It’s hard to imagine a scenario where this concept exists in the new lottery format. We might still see it on a smaller scale, but with a much lower payoff and level of predictability that limits any appeal. We will still have other forms of “stashing” that exist such as injury related stashes, or stashes ahead of the trade deadline, but the concept of stashing a player due to tanking related reasons has likely gone extinct.

Traditional Tanking Is Dead. Weird Roster Management & Unpredictability Is Not.

Tanking in the sense of purposely losing games to improve draft position is likely dead. You could make an argument that teams in the bottom 11-16 in the standings might be incentivized to lose if their front office has no confidence in their ability to make a run in the playoffs, but that concept seems like it would be a rarity, and definitely impossible to predict.

While teams might not have any incentive to purposely lose games, that doesn’t mean that they necessarily have an incentive to win games. Once a team clinches seeding in the bottom 4-10 range, there will likely be some unpredictable rotations that involve prioritizing playing younger players, or rest/limitations for certain players to preserve health.

We will still have to keep a close eye on the standings to see when teams clinch positioning, and attempt to predict the impact once achieved, but it’s definitely on a much smaller scale than we used to have to.

Do We Still Have To End Our Seasons Early?

It has always been industry standard to end fantasy leagues 3 weeks earlier than the end of the NBA regular season. Before the lottery changes, there has been serious discussions whether we need to end even earlier than that, and I’ve even noticed a strong trend of leagues that end significantly early, and even as early as the trade deadline.

I think we can officially put those discussions to rest, and reverse the narrative to discuss whether we can play even later in the season. I lean towards sticking with concluding leagues 3 weeks early, especially since we still haven’t seen the true fallout of how teams read and react to this new change. I don’t think we’ll ever reach the point where we can play up until the final day of the regular season due to the reasons discussed in the prior section of this write-up, but I could definitely be convinced to end 2 weeks early. As I said, I will likely be playing it safe with a 3 week buffer this season, but I believe the 2 week buffer is where we are headed in the near future.

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Nikola Jokic (1.6 ADP) - He Is Turning 32 This Season

It’s hard to find a real flaw in the reigning first overall pick, and fantasy superpower for countless seasons. The reason I highlight his age is because Jokic is almost certainly not the type of player to play until he’s 40, or probably not even into his late 30s for several reasons. He’s now on the downtrend of the aging curve, but I’m certainly not betting against him, and it’s not easy to find a real flaw.

Victor Wembanyama (1.6 ADP) - His Value Is Too Dependent On Blocks

Wemby finished as the #2 player in 9cat fantasy basketball last season. If you hypothetically punted blocks, that brings him down to #10. You obviously would never punt blocks with Victor Wembanyama on your team, but this at least highlights how much of his value is reliant on one category, and I don’t find him nearly as easy to build around as Jokic, for example. He’s still locked into the number 2 pick for me regardless. I could’ve also highlighted his lower minutes throughout last season, or the blood clot diagnosis in the season prior, but I can’t honestly say that’s too much of a concern for now.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (3.4 ADP) - Another Deep Playoff Run

Oklahoma City won the finals in 2024-25, and followed that up with a game 7 finish in the conference finals in 2025-26. I can’t honestly say I’m concerned about fatigue for SGA, but I had to come up with something. For better or worse, we already saw a minor pullback last season where SGA averaged his fewest minutes per game since his rookie season. He still finished 3rd per game in 9cat, and I can’t say fatigue or rested games is much of a worry at all.

Luka Doncic (3.7 ADP) - Conditioning

Am I actually concerned with Luka’s conditioning? No, not really. Luka had a career high in usage last season, and with LeBron’s departure, I expect his usage to rise even further as his workload also rises. I definitely think this should be looked at positively, but if you’re someone that has doubts about Luka’s conditioning, now is as good of a time as ever to push that narrative.

Cade Cunningham (5.5 ADP) - He Has Almost No Chance To Finish Top 5

Drafting a player at pick 5 when his ceiling feels even lower than that feels a bit backwards, but when you consider the value proposition of the names below him, it starts to make sense. Compared to his counterparts, he doesn’t really have any other real flaws I can highlight, which is why he is molding into the consensus number 5 pick. The team around him is mostly the same, he doesn’t have any real health concerns, he’s fairly easy to build around, and entering his age 25 season, he should presumably continue to develop. There’s an argument to be made that Cade should be grouped in the same tier as picks ~6-10, but I lean towards Cade for the safety that is hard to find elsewhere.

Tyrese Maxey (7.9 ADP) - Impact Of The New Arrivals LeBron James & Jaylen Brown

Maxey finished 5th in 9cat last season, and I currently have him at 10 on my draft board. I’m less than confident with that placement. Maxey will undoubtedly take a usage hit with the new arrivals. Every pick in this part of the first round has a noticeable flaw, and while I think it’s the wrong decision to let him fall out of the first round entirely, there has to be an adjustment to reflect the new team around him. I project that it could get ugly at the beginning of the season as the team pieces itself together, and gradually improves as the season progresses.

Jayson Tatum (8.4 ADP) - Uncertainty Post Torn Achilles

Tatum returned and played 16 regular season games last season coming off a torn achilles in the playoffs the prior season. His numbers were expectedly down, but that alone should not be the main cause of concern. In that small sample size he rested back to backs, and also had to sit out game 7 in the first round of playoffs due to soreness in his knee due to overcompensation related to the achilles injury. While I am optimistic he can make his way back to first round value, there is some uncertainty about what it exactly looks like.

Anthony Edwards (9.0 ADP) - Impact Of LaMelo Ball

Minnesota not only added LaMelo Ball this offseason, but they also revamped their starting lineup with departures of Naz Reid & Julius Randle. I actually think it’s more likely that Edwards improves his fantasy value this season than regresses if he can swap decreased playmaking responsibility for improved efficiency. There’s a chance it’s a bit rocky at the beginning of the season as the team molds together, but I see no reason why Edwards can’t produce first round value when it’s all said and done.

Jalen Johnson (9.4 ADP) - Impact of CJ McCollum / 2025-26 Second Half Regression

Jalen Johnson finished 18th per game last season, but his season splits before and after CJ McCollum arrived are quite remarkable. Before McCollum arrived on January 11th, Jalen Johnson was ranked 9th per game. From January 11th onward, his ranking fell all the way down to 38th. While I attribute some of this drop off to fatigue as a 24 year old playing a career high in games & minutes in what was really his first full NBA season, the impact of McCollum cannot go understated.

Giannis Antetokounmpo (10.0 ADP) - Difficult To Build A Team Around & You Must Punt Free Throws

It’s the same story with Giannis again this season. He’s returned first round value in 9 straight seasons if you reference “minus 1” rankings, while his last 4 seasons have yielded 104th, 34th, 55th, & 67th rankings if you reference traditional 9cat rankings. With that being said, you are putting yourself at a severe disadvantage if you draft Giannis without committing to punting free throws. It’s not easy to commit to a punt build with your very first pick, and this is the only player in the first round that has the designation of “must punt”. This decision can quickly go wrong if you don’t have the players fall to you that you expect to fall to you to fit your specific build. I will happily be drafting Giannis in the top 6, but the caveat remains that I have no qualms if you decide to pass on him if you are new to fantasy basketball, or lack confidence to build around him.

Tyrese Haliburton (11.1 ADP) - Uncertainty Post Torn Achilles

Haliburton is not the only potential first round pick with this flaw, but there is definitely more uncertainty with him than his counterpart. Unlike Jayson Tatum, we did not see “proof of life” from Haliburton as he sat out the entirety of the 2025-26 season. Recovery from a torn achilles has evolved dramatically in even the last decade, but there are still mixed results whether or not a player can return to his previous form. I expect rested back to backs, and reduced playing time at least to begin the season. Haliburton had 3 straight top 10 finishes before the injury, and it’s fair to push him back to the turn of the first round due to this uncertainty.

Scottie Barnes (11.8 ADP) - Outlier Efficiency In 2025-26

Barnes had the most efficient season of his career by far with 50.7% FG / 81.5 % FT / 30.4% 3PT splits, achieving a career high in all 3 markers. This enabled the best fantasy season of his career, with most of his other numbers staying relatively similar. There’s a chance he just does it again, but last season should be considered the outlier, and with 5 seasons of data I’m going to bet against the season with the biggest outlier.

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Paul Reed - 161.3

Jalen Duren remains unsigned. I’m putting Reed on here with the assumption that Duren remains in Detroit, but any deviation from that and this would be one of the best values on the board. I think Reed is a rosterable handcuff in this current alignment. With Isaiah Stewart out of the picture, that opens a consistent 16-20 MPG role for Reed who has proven he can produce back end value with that little playing time. He can likely be held for back end value, with a chance to skyrocket if Duren misses time.

Quentin Grimes - 167.5

We’ve seen large fluctuations in Grimes’ role throughout his career, and specifically in the last 2 seasons. He’s shown the ability to scale up usage when needed throughout his career, and goes to a Lakers team with a usage void to fill in the absence of LeBron. There was no clear role for Grimes last season when Philadelphia was fully healthy. He got a 60 million dollar contact this offseason to start in Los Angeles. There’s a pretty clear pathway to finish inside the top 100 in this current alignment.

Moussa Diabate - 175

Diabate was a top 100 player upon taking over the starting center role in December last season. Charlotte added Naz Reid this offseason & drafted Hannes Steinbach in the lottery, and there is admittedly a large threat to Diabate’s fantasy value with these new additions. I’m willing to pivot if new information comes out during training camp/preseason, but as of right now I still view Diabate as Charlotte’s starting center. An ADP of 175 is too low as he’s at least worth drafting if you’re looking for big men stats at the end of drafts.

Scotty Pippen - 195.5

Memphis cleared a lot out of the way this offseason including Ja Morant. Pippen played just 10 games on 21.2 MPG last season, and he’s always been a great per minute producer when given the opportunity. This is more of a question of role as Pippen competes for playing time with Jerome, Spencer, Clayton, & Small, but I believe Pippen is clearly the second best player in that grouping, and I’m willing to take a chance on him playing a 1B role with Ty Jerome this season.

Mikel Brown - 195.7

I know very little about Mr. Brown, but I do know that any rookie that is starting on opening night should be drafted in all standard fantasy leagues to see what happens.

Jimmy Butler - 207.1

This is completely dependent on league format because I wouldn’t consider drafting Butler unless I have at least 3 IL spots available. Any leagues with 3+ IL spots have no reason to not pick him up in the final rounds.

Gui Santos - 209.4

Santos was a top 100 player after Jimmy Butler went down in January last season. Butler is still several months away from returning, and Golden State did basically nothing to change their roster in the offseason. Yaxel Lendeborg has a chance to take his starting spot, but Santos should play a very similar role that he did in the second half of last season. 209 feels like severe sleeper territory.

Brook Lopez - 218.1

The Clippers are entering the season with the exact same center room they ended with last season featuring Lopez, Isaiah Jackson, & Yanic Konan Niederhauser. I actually think it’s more likely than not that Lopez is fringe for standard fantasy leagues, but he should at least be drafted as a starting center, and an ADP of 218 tells me that he’s not being remotely considered.

Morez Johnson - 218.3

Similar to Mikel Brown, I know very little about Johnson other than the fact that he was just drafted by the same team that also just hired his college coach at Michigan. It seems highly unlikely that Dereck Lively is healthy on opening night, and Gafford seems like an afterthought in the Maverick’s organization. Just like Brown, if Johnson is indeed starting in Dallas, he’s worth drafting to see what happens.

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This list coming out to exactly 120 players was not planned, but serves as a great reflection of this exercise. 120 perfectly reflects a standard 12 team league with 10 starters filled for each team. This leaves 36-48 names, (3-4 bench spots per team) which we typically refer to as “fliers” left to be discovered.

The List:

Nikola Jokic

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Luka Doncic

Kawhi Leonard

Tyrese Maxey

Victor Wembanyama

Stephen Curry

Lauri Markkanen

Donovan Mitchell

Kevin Durant

Anthony Edwards

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Cade Cunningham

Trey Murphy

Jamal Murray

Scottie Barnes

James Harden

Joel Embiid

Jalen Johnson

Kevin Porter

Austin Reaves

Derrick White

Walker Kessler

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Nickeil Alexander-Walker

Jayson Tatum

Amen Thompson

Anthony Davis

Karl-Anthony Towns

Michael Porter

LaMelo Ball

Mikal Bridges

Chet Holmgren

Alperen Sengun

OG Anunoby

Keyonte George

Paul George

Evan Mobley

Bam Adebayo

Ty Jerome

Jaylen Brown

Cooper Flagg

Desmond Bane

LeBron James

Deni Avdija

Brandon Miller

Onyeka Okongwu

Dyson Daniels

Kel’El Ware

Tyler Herro

Jalen Duren

Ryan Rollins

Josh Giddey

Dejounte Murray

Immanuel Quickley

VJ Edgecombe

Jalen Suggs

Jaren Jackson

Donovan Clingan

Devin Booker

Jarrett Allen

Kristaps Porzingis

Reed Sheppard

Andrew Wiggins

DeMar DeRozan

Pascal Siakam

Jalen Brunson

Kon Knueppel

Neemias Queta

Ausar Thompson

Mark Williams

Jaden McDaniels

Alex Sarr

Brandon Ingram

Julius Randle

Payton Pritchard

Rudy Gobert

Jabari Smith

Zach Edey

Franz Wagner

Josh Hart

Naz Reid

Matas Buzelis

Jalen Williams

Miles Bridges

Keegan Murray

Norman Powell

De’Aaron Fox

Isaiah Hartenstein

John Collins

Zion Williamson

Jusuf Nurkic

Kyshawn George

Jrue Holiday

Derik Queen

Paolo Banchero

Myles Turner

Ivica Zubac

Moussa Diabate

Nicolas Claxton

Jakob Poeltl

Darius Garland

CJ McCollum

Sandro Mamukelashvili

Ja Morant

Domantas Sabonis

Trae Young

Stephon Castle

Toumani Camara

Tari Eason

Shaedon Sharpe

Day’Ron Sharpe

Dillon Brooks

Brook Lopez

Dylan Harper

Jalen Green

Coby White

Tyrese Haliburton

Damian Lillard

Kyrie Irving

Fred VanVleet

AJ Dybantsa

Darryn Peterson

Cameron Boozer

Caleb Wilson

Darius Acuff

Jordan Poole (74/72)

Andrew Nembhard (76/89)

Cam Thomas (83/80)

Bennedict Mathurin (89/96)

Anfernee Simons (90/84)

Cam Johnson (96/88)

Bradley Beal (97/108)

Dereck Lively (107/127)

Jaden Ivey (112/119)

D’Angelo Russell (114/114)

Donte DiVincenzo (120/129)

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Rationales:

Jordan Poole

Poole was extremely disappointing for the entirety of last season, and saw his role minimized before being taken out of the rotation entirely in the 2026 part of the season. He has one year left on his deal in New Orleans. He’s clearly not part of any future plan in New Orleans, and is dependent on a trade to extract any fantasy value. While I do view a trade as highly likely this offseason, he would need several pieces to fall into place for us to have any interest in drafting him on a new team.

Andrew Nembhard

Nembhard did basically everything you wanted him to do on a per game basis last season. That being said, he was only relevant due to Tyrese Haliburton’s absence, and Nembhard now reverts to a backup point guard role.

Cam Thomas

There’s a chance his NBA career is over. Regardless, he was basically only a back end player in the two seasons he had 30+ MPG & 30%+ usage.

Bennedict Mathurin

Mathurin is entering free agency which always comes with a lot of unknowns regarding fantasy value tied to where he lands. Maybe he has a case to be a late round flier, but I’m basically done with the Bennedict Mathurin experience in fantasy basketball until proven otherwise. He’s been fringe at best through multiple opportunities of extended run in Indiana, and Los Angeles recently.

Anfernee Simons

I should basically just copy & paste Mathurin’s write up for Simons. I’m slightly more intrigued in drafting Simons if he lands a starting role somewhere, but it’s highly unlikely he will get that anywhere on opening night.

Cam Johnson

There was a huge fall off between the Brooklyn and Denver versions of Johnson as expected. He’ll probably have fringe value in Denver as currently constructed, but there is basically no upside to consider drafting him when there will inevitably be many more intriguing late round fliers to pick from.

Bradley Beal

Another major injury ended Beal’s season after only 6 games last year. Even if health & rested games weren’t a concern, his lack of a role certainly is.

Dereck Lively

The lower body injuries continue to pile up, and there has to be some major concern at this point regarding Lively’s future in the league. I’m rooting for him in a big way to eventually stay healthy and deliver the fantasy production we know he’s capable of, but he has to make his way back to the court, and go through a long ramp up period before I remotely have any interest in him for standard leagues.

Jaden Ivey

I think his basketball career is over.

D’Angelo Russell

Russell was signed to be the starting point guard in Dallas, and was immediately played off the court and outcasted. I’m guessing he plays somewhere next season in a backup role, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he’s played his last NBA game.

Donte DiVincenzo

DiVincenzo tore his achilles in the playoffs, and it’s safe to say that he’s out for the entirety of the 2025-26 season. DiVincenzo seems to be the only player that has made this list due to injury, in stark contrast to last year’s list that featured several big names such as Haliburton, Tatum, Murray, & Irving.

All-Milk Carton First Team

G: Trae Young | 15 GP | 13 ADP

G: Ja Morant | 19 GP | 43 ADP

F: Giannis Antetokounmpo | 36 GP | 4 ADP

F: Anthony Davis | 20 GP | 7 ADP

C: Domantas Sabonis | 19 GP | 18 ADP

All-Milk Carton Second Team

G: Jordan Poole | 39 GP | 74 ADP

G: Jalen Green | 32 GP | 76 ADP

F: Jalen Williams | 33 GP | 28 ADP

F: Kristaps Porzingis | 32 GP | 52 ADP

C: Walker Kessler | 5 GP | 61 ADP

All-Milk Carton Third Team

G: Bradley Beal | 6 GP | 97 ADP

G: Tyler Herro | 33 GP | 71 ADP

F: Franz Wagner | 34 GP | 36 ADP

F: Keegan Murray | 23 GP | 115 ADP

C: Zach Edey | 11 GP | 118 ADP

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The placement of players on these teams include consideration of many factors such as games played, draft capital sacrificed (ADP), consecutive games missed through these absences, personal expectations, public perception, among other factors.

All 15 players listed missed a significant chunk of time this season, oftentimes with unpredictable or misleading return timelines. Organizations are often vague with their injury reporting, and sometimes we have to take it into our own hands as fantasy managers and put out an ad on the back of a milk carton.

Fantasy basketball analysis in May is probably more misleading than it is helpful, but it’s at least worth keeping these names in mind if there are discounts to be had next draft season when a handful of these players inevitably get falsely tagged as “injury prone”.

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Harper was the second overall pick in the 2025 draft and was buried on the depth chart in San Antonio for most of the regular season. There was quietly a ramp up in his role in the second half of the season, as evidenced by 21.4 MPG in the first 41 games of the season, up to 24.3 in the final 28 games of the regular season, and that is up even further in the playoffs averaging 27 MPG. The gradual role increase throughout the season is not coincidental as he has gotten more comfortable, and Harper has seen his per minute production rise alongside with his playing time, which typically has an inverse correlation. Across his last 4 playoff games, Harper is averaging 18.8 PPG / 8.3 RPG / 2.8 APG / 2.8 SPG / 0.5 BPG / 55% FG / 31.3 MPG.

The public perception of Dylan Harper for fantasy drafts next season is largely dependent on the status of De’Aaron Fox. Not only his status and availability for the rest of playoffs, but also the status of his future in San Antonio. San Antonio has a good problem on their hands with a logjam of lead guards between Fox, Castle, and Harper. If this core remains, we just saw Dylan Harper play out a full season of being unrosterable in this current alignment. I’m fairly confident that wouldn’t be the case if they did run it back, considering where Harper is at in his development, but it’s at least worth mentioning that his value remains uncertain unless major changes are made.

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I have Dylan Harper firmly on my watchlist heading into next draft season. It’s a difficult exercise to analyze where players will be drafted in fantasy leagues in May, especially as this situation currently sits in San Antonio. With that being said, I am fairly confident that Harper should be drafted, even if this current alignment stays. Whether his draft stock is closer to a flier pick, or in the middle of the draft remains to be seen, but he has enough pedigree given the context as the second overall pick getting buried on a stacked team, along with the evidence we have seen towards the end of the regular season, and into the NBA playoffs as his role increased. If there’s any chance Fox or Castle depart from San Antonio, Harper could rocket up 9cat draft boards into top ~75 range.

Zion Williamson & LaMelo Ball Both Play 60+ Games Each

Zion played 62 games, and LaMelo played 72. I can’t say I had a strong thesis outside of the law of averages. Both Zion & LaMelo fall into the label of “injury prone” due to their physical style of play where they put their bodies on the line every night, and leave them both vulnerable to injuries. There is a bit of luck involved in both players’ health, such as LaMelo’s 72 games played where he played in 58 consecutive games to finish the season, but there was also a large load taken off his shoulders with the rise of Kon Knueppel, and a healthy Brandon Miller. With Zion’s 62 games played it seems as though his team is making a conscious effort to force him to adapt to stay healthy, even if it comes at the expense of fantasy production like we just saw.

VERDICT: HIT

Victor Wembanyama Finishes #1, And Cements Himself As The #1 Pick For Several Years To Come

Wembanyama finished #2 in both per game value and totals value, and also finished #1 in both of those markers across the second half of the season. The biggest roadblock to having this prediction come to fruition was the calf injury suffered in November where he missed nearly a month, and saw his playing time severely limited in the aftermath. Despite remaining healthy for the remainder of the season, this injury not only prevented a #1 finish, but also leaves uncertainty in the eyes of fantasy managers going into next season. Some managers have already written off Wembanyama as “injury prone”, but the true hesitancy comes from Wembayama’s lanky archetype, along with the plethora of depth in San Antonio, that could lead to restrictions for Wemby on nights where they don’t necessarily need him to win. I think it’s likely he is third off the board in most fantasy leagues next season behind Jokic & SGA.

VERDICT: MISS

You Will Regret Nothing If You Drop Anfernee Simons In October

Simons had an ADP of 90 on Yahoo, and 84 on Fantrax. I had an extremely confident take in draft season that I had no interest in drafting Simons, even with my last pick. Outside of a few random stretches including a short- lived boost when he arrived in Chicago, Simons was unrosterable all season, and I’m relatively proud of this one.

VERDICT: HIT

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2/3 of Jalen Johnson, Amen Thompson, & Evan Mobley Produce First Round Per Game Value

Nobody cares about how close you were if you go 0/3. I think I underestimated just how difficult it is to finish inside of the first round of fantasy value. Jalen Johnson was the closest as he finished just outside of first round value, and I’m almost certain he will be picked in the first round of fantasy drafts next season. I will pivot from this prediction as I still believe at least 2 out of 3 of these players will produce first round per game value for an entire season at some point in their careers.

VERDICT: MISS

Derrick White Doesn’t Rest A Single Game In Fantasy Playoffs

White missed two games in March on the 12th and the 29th. If you followed the industry standard playoff schedule with an end date of March 22nd, White only missed one game across the entirety of the fantasy playoffs. Neither absence was officially designated as rest, and while I agree it’s reasonable to label them as rested games, I’m going to call this prediction a win. Much of the discourse around White in draft season centered around Boston’s “gap year” without Tatum and fears of rested games from White in fantasy playoffs, only for Boston to finish as the 2 seed. Derrick White had another excellent fantasy season, and the objective to illustrate my lack of concern for rested games for him worked out well.

VERDICT: HIT

Toumani Camara Finishes Top 50

Camara had long stretches of top 50 production in the second half of the 2024-25 season, and I was fully bought in with another year of development in a similar role. Funny enough, he produced top 50 numbers across the final 20 games again this season but it was too little too late. Overall, his efficiency & defensive stats regressed significantly and Camara was fringe for most of the year. Efficiency & defense is variable year to year, and there’s a good chance I’ll be back in on drafting Camara once again.

VERDICT: MISS

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Nikola Vucevic Is Droppable In Standard Leagues Before The End Of The Season

I didn’t know exactly how it was going to happen, but it finally happened. Vucevic was droppable almost instantly upon arriving in Boston. There is no clear path for Vucevic to find his way back onto draft boards as he is officially in the twilight of his career.

VERDICT: HIT

Isaiah Jackson Is A Top 100 Player Per Game

I could’ve easily swapped “Isaiah Jackson” with “Neemias Queta”, and then I look like a genius. Nonetheless, I leaned on Jackson due to his previously established elite fantasy game. It’s still not 100% clear to me how much Jackson’s limited playing time was due to health, or Indiana simply cycling through mediocre options. I’m guessing the latter as he was essentially used as salary filler in the Zubac trade, and played a similar role upon arriving in Los Angeles

VERDICT: MISS

0 Sacramento Kings Players Return Value Relative to Preseason ADP

Was this my best take? There were major roster construction red flags with a team featuring so many ball dominant players, combined with being flat out bad. Sacramento had plenty of recognizable names that were overdrafted and propped up due to flashy scoring and past production. Keegan Murray technically beat his ADP on per game value, but did so with several key players out in most games he played, and obviously did not return value with only 23 games played and 0 in the fantasy playoffs.

VERDICT: HIT

Kel’El Ware Is Droppable In Standard Leagues Within The First Month Of The Season

I would be in the wrong to call this anything other than a miss as Ware finished 56th per game and 38th by totals. I never officially declared him droppable within the first month of the season, but he was quickly trending in that direction until Adebayo missed time in weeks 3 & 4 of the season, which paved the way for Ware to remain rostered. My hesitancy to draft Ware felt justified, but I cannot rewrite the results.

VERDICT: MISS

Josh Hart Averages Less Than 30 MPG

Hart averaged 30.2 MPG in the 2025-26 season, which was the lowest mark since 2020-21. Hart was being drafted too early with expectations based off of his numbers playing 38 MPG in the season prior. New coach, new role, and this was especially highlighted by Hart coming off of the bench in preseason games in favor of the double big lineup with KAT and Robinson. While he technically didn’t play less than 30 MPG, all I have to do is round down to the nearest whole number, and we can call this one a push

VERDICT: PUSH

(It looks kinda nice to have 5 hits, 5 misses, and a push)

CONCLUSION

Overall we have 5 hits, 5 misses, and a push. In my original write up I said that “if I get just a couple of these right, I will consider it a success.” With that in mind, I think it’s fair to call this a success with many takes that were spot on, and even the misses were close for the most part with a rationale that we could’ve played out. I’ll be back again in October!

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It’s no secret that tanking is a big problem in the NBA right now, and that same problem could be amplified even further in fantasy leagues if “worst team picks first” is enabled. Once a team is mathematically eliminated from the fantasy playoffs, it would be foolish to continue setting your lineups at all as the losses pile up with 0s on the scoreboard week to week. Rules can be implemented to ensure lineups are consistently set, but it’s extremely difficult to implement a rule that prevents managers from filling their lineup with players that have no business being rostered in the place of an empty starting spot to ensure the losing continues.

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Something like this could happen as early as 4-5 weeks into the season if a disgruntled manager decides to fully punt their season away after several losses to open the year. There are roughly 20 regular season weeks in a fantasy basketball season. Making the playoffs can come down to something as simple as having to play one of these tanking teams at the beginning of the season before the tanking started against a much stronger team, while the opposing fantasy manager gets to cruise to a 7-2 (or 8-1/9-0) victory as they get the luck of the draw with the privilege of facing them in one of the final weeks. There is already enough luck in fantasy basketball. Let’s not add another element of luck that is easily preventable.

The element of scheduling luck factors into NBA playoff positioning as well, but the impact is much more miniscule. 82 real life games vs ~20 fantasy matchups translates to each matchup meaning significantly more. Furthermore, on any given night in the NBA a group of “NPC” outcasts on two-way contracts can scrape together an upset win against a legitimate contender. This just does not happen in a fantasy context when the tanking team is either not setting their lineup at all, or filling it with bench warmers and role players that have no logical reason to be rostered in a standard league.

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Allowing the worst team to pick first doesn’t make sense in a redraft league when you consider why that method was implemented in the first place. It’s logical to allow the worst team to pick first in the NBA to give them a chance to improve, but in a fantasy context where rosters are reset every season, I don’t see a reason to carry this over outside of pure sympathy for weak managers. This is a completely different story in dynasty leagues, but even then, dynasty leagues should have a strict draft lottery process to prevent tanking in that league format as well.

The solution is to allow draft order to be randomized by the fantasy platform the league is hosted on. I am also bothered when commissioners use a random name/number generator that can easily be manipulated and ran through multiple takes before the commissioner decides on a draft order they like. Let a neutral third party set the draft order and be done with it.

Orlando

Tristan da Silva - As I said before, his peak run should be viewed as his best possible case for value. Still worth holding as the schedule makes sense.

Atlanta

Jonathan Kuminga - I don’t see the rationale for continuing to roster him through his missed games, and low minutes now that the team is healthy.

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GSW @ WAS

Golden State

Kristaps Porzingis - Worth remembering that Porzingis is a top 20 per game player when all things are right. I doubt he’ll ever get back to that level, but he should probably be held even with rested back to backs, and riskiness of rest on any given day. Up to 26 minutes tonight is a great sign.

De’Anthony Melton - I guess he’s healthy then? It’s hard to commit and hold with rested back to backs, but there’s definitely a case.

Washington

Tristan Vukcevic - Benched for Reese, and we get another lesson in how hard it is to trust Wizards in fantasy

Trae Young - Back to back games where he left early with an “injury” and did not return. I don’t believe he should be considered a must.

Bilal Coulibaly - Playing well recently, and the minutes appear to be safe enough. He should’ve been added ahead of the 5 game week, but it’s not too late to do so as Washington plays again tomorrow with 4 games in 6 nights Tue-Sun.

Justin Champagnie - The king of random DNPs. He might be the least trustworthy Wizard, and that’s saying a lot.

Will Riley - His playing time has been safe for several weeks. Production and consistency of production is far from ideal, but the minutes floor is nice, and should be rostered in a good portion of the schedule for Washington.

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POR @ BKN

Portland

Toumani Camara - A better game, but we’ve seen enough to know he’s not a must

Brooklyn

Nolan Traore - Easy drop. They’ve quickly moved away from him in favor of Saraf.

Ben Saraf - Minutes have trended up, as Saraf has seemingly overtaken Traore’s priority. I find it hard to trust Saraf with how often Brooklyn alters their rotations, and a lack of exciting fantasy game on top of that. Still worth monitoring at least.

Danny Wolf - Porter was out again & Clowney joined him on the rest report. It feels like we’re due for a massive Wolf game one of these nights, and he remains a rosterable option in the meantime as players will remain out.

PHO @ BOS

Phoenix

Oso Ighodaro - Better game tonight. The most appealing part of rostering Ighodaro is the safety in his minutes floor with a good schedule, even if his fantasy game isn’t anything special. He should likely be held for schedule purposes for now.

Royce O’Neale - I didn’t see any reason why he got halted at only 19 minutes. I’m sure there’s something I’m missing.

DAL @ NOR

Dallas

Ryan Nembhard - Continues to start, and not do much.

Naji Marshall - We’ve been on a rollercoaster with evaluating Marshall. He was benched and played significantly less, and now he’s back starting and playing as good as ever. He should probably be rostered, but the schedule for Dallas sucks, and holding him is more dependent on league context than anything else.

PJ Washington - Washington has struggled with consistency in both playing time and production. It looks like he’s back on the menu again, but the schedule for Dallas also sucks, and holding him is more dependent on league context than anything else.

New Orleans

Derik Queen - Irrational to be still holding onto Queen.

Karlo Matkovic - He’s been so good on low minutes. I’d love for him to get an opportunity in a larger role, but all we can do is watch from the sidelines for now.

Yves Missi - Huge game in a spot start with Murray out. No reason to react based on this.

Jeremiah Fears - Gonna need to see a lot more consistency before I even think about adding

MEM @ CHI

Memphis

Javon Small - Out on G League Assignment, and he can now play every game to finish the season. Frustrating, but we knew this was coming, and he should play every remaining game.

Olivier-Maxence Prosper - He has really fallen off since his initial peak run. Makes some sense to hold for schedule while the minutes are there, but he is definitely not a must.

Walter Clayton - Stream for assists when Jerome is out. Small was also out here.

Jaylen Wells - Wells has started all season, and is finally coming through with consistent scoring and production within the last month or so. He’s worth rostering through a good portion of the schedule for Memphis the next ~2 weeks.

Cam Spencer - Really hard to trust his minutes night to night, but I like Spencer as a rosterable option through a good portion of the schedule for Memphis the next ~2 weeks.

Taylor Hendricks - There is a strong level of risk with streaming Hendricks with lower minutes on any given night, and randomly rested games, but he has a case to be the most valuable Grizzly right now. I’d look to roster him with a good stretch of schedule for Memphis upcoming.

Chicago

Tre Jones - Simons & Ivey aren’t coming back any time soon, and we can continue to roll with Jones who is providing consistent value, and should be rostered at least for the Wed/Thu back to back.

Leonard Miller - As long as he’s starting, it looks like he should be rostered. The big test is what happens when Okoro returns. Chicago also has 3 days in a row off Fri-Sun to send the week.

Jalen Smith - Nothing impressive recently, and he’s also going to rest on the back to back. I’d stream his spot in most cases.

Matas Buzelis - Buzelis has had a strange fantasy season. He went from restricted minutes for most of the first half of the season, and has rolled as an elite fantasy asset since the trade deadline. There is a lot of water to go under the bridge in Chicago, and Buzelis will likely be a polarizing name to discuss in draft seasons once again.

LAL @ HOU

Lakers

Deandre Ayton - Doing well enough to keep rostered, but far from a must.

Houston

Tari Eason - Insane how bad it’s gotten with his shooting. I don’t see much of a reason to keep holding on.

Clint Capela - He’s worth streaming whenever Sengun misses, but I don’t think Sengun will miss any time, and I wouldn’t go out of your way to add Capela.

SAS @ LAC

Clippers

Derrick Jones - Worth holding for schedule purposes, but he’s lost a lot of value with Collins back.

Brook Lopez/Isaiah Jackson - Collins ate a chunk of center minutes upon returning, severely limiting the appeal and upside of Lopez & Jackson. I still like Lopez as a streamable option, but nothing more.

Jordan Miller - As long as Kawhi is out, Miller is worth streaming. He’s nothing to get excited about, but has a case to be added ahead of 3 games in 4 nights Wed-Sat.

Minnesota

Ayo Dosunmu - Stream when the schedule makes sense. They play 4 games in 6 nights Tue-Sun.

Oklahoma City

Jaylin Williams - He’s a stream when at least one center is out only.

Ajay Mitchell - He is way overrostered. I consider Mitchell to be a rosterable option, but he’s far from a must at this point in the season.

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DET @ TOR

Detroit

Tobias Harris - Should probably be held for back end production, but not a must.

Ausar Thompson - Minutes were limited upon his return, but I believe he should be rostered

Toronto

Jakob Poeltl - 36 minutes is insane. Poeltl has produced top 50 numbers since returning, and looks to be at peak performance.

IND @ MIL

Indiana

Jay Huff - Solid per minute game, but there’s not enough there with Zubac back in the mix for Huff to be held onto.

Aaron Nesmith - Nesmith looks like a rosterable option, but he’s resting back to backs with a strong risk for rested games and limitations on top of that. I’d likely leave him alone.

Ivica Zubac - He’s fine to roster, but he’s not some kind of elite per minute producer that can get by with extremely low minutes

Milwaukee

Myles Turner - I recognize that he is droppable, but I also think you likely have a player or two worse than Turner you can alternatively drop for your stream spot.

Bobby Portis - Doing enough to stay rostered even with Giannis back

DAL @ CLE

Dallas

Ryan Nembhard - 2 starts in a row, and that appears to be his regular role for now. Nembhard is at least a streamable option for assists while starting.

PJ Washington - He’s been really inconsistent, and finally came through with a big one here. He should probably be rostered, but not a true must.

Cleveland

Keon Ellis - Minutes are awesome, but there were also several guards out. Continue to roll with Keon as a rosterable option.

Max Strus - Came through with a huge line in his season debut. This came with Tyson, Merrill, Porter, & Allen all out. He’s worth adding if multiple players are out like this, but he’s not going to have enough to do on a healthy team, and I would not overreact to this game.

GSW @ NYK

Golden State

Gary Payton - Stepped up with Melton, Moody out, as well as Draymond, Curry, Horford

Quinten Post - Horford will miss some time, which could enable a pathway for fantasy value for Post. Draymond & Porzingis were also out last night, which is likely the main driver for this game from Post. Post is a decent option with 4 games in 6 nights to start the week, but I generally think you can do better, and this role is likely to dissipate with multiple players coming back next game.

New York

Mitchell Robinson - Robinson can be an elite per game stream target. It’s usually hard to pull the trigger with rested back to backs, and a bad upcoming schedule for New York.

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UTA @ SAC

Utah

Multiple players out in a tank off. Hard to take away much here.

Cody Williams - I’ve been interested in Williams as a potential pickup for several games now, and he finally got to explode in a favorable matchup against Utah with multiple of his teammates out. Williams is playing a massive role recently, and should be added ahead of 4 games in 6 nights Wednesday-Monday.

Sacramento

DeMar DeRozan - 38 minutes in a domination against a crippling Utah team. Why?

Killian Hayes - Spot start with Westbrook out. Stream for assists if that happens again.

Dylan Cardwell - Keep watching for an opportunity to add if the minutes rise.

Daeqwon Plowden - His fantasy game is unexciting, but he is consistently playing 30+ minutes, and worth a stream when the schedule makes sense.

Brooklyn

Minutes low for starters as they closed with the bench unit to lose the game.

Danny Wolf - This was a weird game where Wolf got limited as Brooklyn tried to lose. It continues to look like he should be rostered, but it is risky based on what players are in and out, and avoiding Brooklyn’s weird rotational trends.

Josh Minott - He could be a stream option when the schedule makes sense, but it’s risky with the randomness in Brooklyn’s rotations nights to night.

Philadelphia

Justin Edwards - Philadelphia has a lot of different frontcourt options they can cycle through, and Edwards seems to be winning out currently. There is a lot of usage on the sidelines available for Edwards in the short term. He’s worth adding, but is probably not someone I’d go out of my way to do so without any upcoming schedule advantages, and a low floor as they can pivot away at any time.

Adem Bona - As long as Embiid is out, Bona is a rosterable option. I believe this line should be closer to expectations than the prior 3.

Dominick Barlow - His best game in a long time, and forced to play a lot with everyone that was out. You can do much better on the wire.

Cam Payne - He is Cam Payne, and last game was always going to be looked at as the outlier. He’s still fine to roster for now.

Quentin Grimes - Strong flashbacks to March of last year where Grimes gets a perfect opportunity to produce with 4 out of 5 of Philadelphia’s top usage guys out. A clear must roster player.

MIL @ ATL

Milwaukee

Myles Turner - I like the upside enough to hold in most cases, but it’s definitely reasonable to drop depending on your individual circumstance.

Atlanta

Jonathan Kuminga - He has only played 4 of the last 5 games, and the one he played was awful. I believe it’s foolish to hold on at this point

CHA @ SAS

Charlotte

Moussa Diabate - Early foul trouble killed him. I’m still holding in most spots.

Coby White - His best game since arriving in Charlotte. This was fueled by foul trouble for LaMelo. I believe White is overrostered, and profiles as a stream option at best, and I would not use this game as an excuse to roster him.

San Antonio

Julian Champagnie/Devin Vassell - Both are way overrostered, and are stream guys only.

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WAS @ BOS

Washington

Tristan Vukcevic - We know what Vukcevic is capable of when he’s actually playing. 5 game week next week for Washington makes this very tempting, but also too risky to call it a no brainer must add.

Trae Young - He is almost guaranteed to only play 3 out of 5 of their games next week. He also left early last night. I don’t think he should be considered must roster.

Will Riley - His high minute role has been stable for a few weeks now. Production isn’t always theres, but I would look to add ahead of the 5 game week for volume alone.

Bilal Coulibaly - Looks like a nice safe add ahead of the 5 game week.

Justin Champagnie - Very unlikely he plays all 5 games next week

Boston

Jayson Tatum - He’s like 100% back?

Neemias Queta - Nice boost against a bad team after a few bad ones recently. Quetta is a clear must roster player regardless of schedule.

ORL @ MIA

Orlando

Tristan da Silva - Not his best game last night, but I believe he needs to be rostered as long as Wagner & Black are out. It’s an easy volume play with 6 games over 9 nights starting on Monday for Orlando.

Wendell Carter - Much better recently, and needs to be rostered.

Miami

Kel’El Ware - Starting next to Bam with Wiggins out, and continues his elite run placed at the perfect time in fantasy playoffs

Pelle Larsson - Larsson has had a fairly consistent starting role all season that has ramped up in the last few weeks where he is consistently playing 30+ minutes every night now. He’s a safe stream option when the schedule makes sense.

DEN @ LAL

Denver

Tim Hardaway - Stream for threes, and expect major inconsistency night to night

Aaron Gordon - Gordon has had 2 great games, and 2 terrible games since returning. He would be an easy hold in normal circumstances, but I cannot consider him a must roster player while resting back to backs. Every roster situation is different on how Gordon should be handled.

Lakers

Deandre Ayton - Hayes returned, and Ayton was immediately relegated. Ayton should probably be rostered, but cannot be considered a must

SAC @ LAC

Sacramento

DeMar DeRozan/Russell Westbrook - 37 minutes each getting the win? What are we doing here?

Daeqwon Plowden - One of his best games of the season. He’s played 30+ in 4 straights games with a consistent role prior to that, and he’s worth streaming when the schedule makes sense.

Nique Clifford - Production has been inconsistent, yet sufficient overall, while the role has remained steady. I believe it’s clear that he needs to be rostered.

Precious Achiuwa - He’s shown no signs of stopping or limitations. We will be talking about Precious Achiuwa’s 2026 fantasy playoff run for years to come.

Dylan Cardwell - Minutes were very low upon his initial return. If he can get back up to 20+ nightly, he’d be an add.

Clippers

Derrick Jones - Kawhi left early last night with an ankle injury. Derrick Jones was already an add heading into a good schedule period for the Clippers, and this solidifies his rosterable status.

Isaiah Jackson - Jackson has been outplaying Lopez every other game, with possibly his best one last night. He’s worth a stream for a beneficial upcoming schedule that should come with very timid expectations.

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Memphis

Cedric Coward - Great line, but I wouldn’t consider him a must

Olivier-Maxence Prosper - I don’t see why he would be left unrostered.

Ty Jerome - It doesn’t matter how good he’s producing. It’s not worth rostering him when he has rested move then he has played recently.

Philadelphia

Cam Payne - Even with Edgecombe back, Payne still played a large role. Edgecombe did have foul trouble, but Payne is a rosterable option to hold with multiple key players out in Philadelphia, specifically Maxey.

Quentin Grimes - Grimes is a must add player with Maxey, Embiid, and George all out. We saw a huge run from Grimes last season in a similar context with multiple players out, and there’s a good chance we’ll see a similar outcome this time around.

Adem Bona - Bona barely played and Drummond was a DNP as they went to small ball

Kelly Oubre - Should get a nice boost with Maxey out and obviously needs to be rostered

Detroit

Ron Holland - He finally got the Ausar boost, but it came in a brutal blowout, and you can still likely do better for streaming.

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Brooklyn

Danny Wolf - Didn’t need anybody in the frontcourt to be out besides Sharpe to produce a nice line, but this game was over quick with everyone’s minutes down.

Nicolas Claxton - Getting really close to droppable with seemingly limited upside, and significant downside.

Nolan Traore - Easy to see why he’s not a must

WAS @ MIA

Washington

Alex Sarr - A massive line on low minutes in a very weird game. It’s tough to make a call on Sarr with the risk of rested games, but he would be an easy hold if he was guaranteed to play 20+ minutes every game.

Miami

Bam Adebayo - A historic game defining the tank era with a dominant performance against a bad team.

DAL @ ATL

Dallas

Naji Marshall - Back in the starting lineup, and looks like he revived his rosterable status. Marshall was trending towards a drop, but I would look to roster him as long as he’s starting.

Daniel Gafford - Gafford is on one of his best stretches this season. Unfortunately, he’s very likely to rest back to backs, and they have 2 in the next week. Hard to roster with a limited schedule.

PJ Washington - He’s a rosterable option, but not a must.

PHO @ MIL

Phoenix

Royce O’Neale - Huge line, and Royce has benefited with Mark Williams out. He’s a rosterable option, and should be rostered by someone with Phoenix’s excellent upcoming schedule.

Oso Ighodaro - Foul trouble tonight, and a hold for the schedule advantage alone.

Milwaukee

Myles Turner - I was hesitant to label him a drop for games like this. The upside makes it tough to cut.

Ousmane Dieng - His best game since joining the starting lineup, and I believe he should just be rostered in this role.

Kyle Kuzma - Completely unnecessary to play a large role like this, and also somewhat random that he’s back like this. I wouldn’t add unless the schedule makes sense.

TOR @ HOU

Toronto

Sandro Mamukelashvili - Poeltl rested on the back to back enabling a huge game for Mamu with CMB also sidelined. He underdelivered, but an easy stream for back to backs when Poeltl rests

Houston

Tari Eason - The frustration has peaked with Tari Eason as his elite per minute fantasy game has seemingly vanished. He remains a rosterable option, but I also can’t blame anyone for dropping if you believe he is your worst player.

BOS @ SAS

Boston

Ron Harper - They’re short on ball handlers with Pritchard out, but I don’t think we can trust Harper for fantasy purposes.

Neemias Queta - Rough game, but I believe he is a must roster player

San Antonio

Devin Vassell - Hasn’t produced like a must roster play for an extended period all season.

CHA @ POR

Charlotte

Miles Bridges - I don’t think he’s playing well enough to be considered a true must, and he’s an easier drop in any shallow leagues

Portland

Scoot Henderson - Decent enough scoring, but I really don’t see any reason to hold in standard leagues.

Toumani Camara - He’s just not turning it up in March like he hoped he would’ve, and I’m fine to move on

IND @ SAC

Indiana

Aaron Nesmith - Huge game with multiple players out, and I’m ignoring even for streaming purposes.

Jay Huff - Consistent role for a long period of time, and he needs to be rostered

Sacramento

Devin Carter - Only played after the Monk injury, and went off in 16 minutes. I don’t think we can trust this given the context.

Nique Clifford - His numbers have been down the last few games, but the recent production overall has still been fine, and the high minutes are awesome. His role is secure, and he needs to be rostered.

CHI @ GSW

Chicago

Jalen Smith - Overtime game with a huge spike in minutes as any sort of ramp up seems nonexistent. Chicago only had 8 active players in the rotation, but I did not expect this regardless and I’m convinced Smith should be rostered now.

Tre Jones - Getting opportunity with multiple guards out, and played a season high in minutes last night. He should be rostered in this role unless proven otherwise.

Nick Richards - Streamable for big man stats, but very uninspiring overall.

Matas Buzelis - He has really taken full opportunity since the trade deadline to produce top 50 numbers since the deadline.

Leonard Miller - It’s really hard to judge this with the amount of players that were out, and also being out of the rotation in the last game they played. Miller remains perpetually on the watchlist, and would be an add if he got this consistent role every night.

Golden State

De’Anthony Melton - Steve Kerr just straight up lied saying he’d play tonight?

Kristaps Porzingis - We know what he’s capable of when he gets the chance to play. Unfortunately, I find it hard to roster him given the built in rest games, and risk of missing for his illness on any given day. I don’t think he can be trusted as a rosterable option.

MIN @ LAL

Lakers

Deandre Ayton - Best game in awhile, and the most he has played since November. Enabled by LeBron and Hayes out, this is encouraging regardless. Ayton is worth holding given his upside, but I also think you won’t regret moving on given the volatility of his playing time on a healthy team.

Philadelphia

Cam Payne - Probably needs both Maxey and Edgecombe to be out to produce value.

Quentin Grimes - Boosted with both Maxey and Edgecombe out, and looking like a great pickup for schedule purposes alone.

Kelly Oubre - Limited due to foul trouble and a blowout

Adem Bona - The good news is that he has started over Drummond for 3 straight games, and that looks like the direction they’ve decided on for now. The bad news is that he has been extremely underwhelming during that time. Hold for schedule purposes, but even if Embiid misses extended time, I don’t think he needs to be committed to after Sunday.

Cleveland

Jaylon Tyson - Even with some players in and out, he hasn’t provided standard league value in months, and remains overrostered. Stream if multiple starters are out.

DEN @ OKC

Denver

Christian Braun - The recent minutes have been great. I don’t look at him as a must, and the only way to go is down with Watson coming back.

Cam Johnson - No reason to be holding on with Gordon back, and Watson on the way.

Aaron Gordon - Huge line in his second game back. He looks like an add, and while I don’t mind doing that, there are a few things to note. There are 2-3 upcoming back to backs, and Gordon has about a 50/50 hit rate on playing back to backs this season. Peyton Watson is also coming back any game now. I think there’s enough here for Gordon to remain a back end per game contributor, but the risk of rested back to backs makes it tough to commit as a must roster option.

Oklahoma City

Jaylin Williams - The secret is out that Jaylin is an elite fantasy producer and fill-in whenever Hartstein or Holmgren misses. Jaylin is fairly useless if both centers ahead of him play, and I don’t have much motivation to hold with a terrible upcoming schedule featuring 1 game in the next 5 nights.

Ajay Mitchell - Made his return with a massive line. In normal circumstances, I’d be looking to add Mitchell. Considering Oklahoma City’s awful schedule, and the context of multiple players out last night, I’d hold off on adding him for now.

MEM @ BKN

Memphis

Taylor Hendricks - So Hendricks is going to rest games now too? I wish we could trust him, but it’s difficult now as he has rested both of the B2Bs recently with more to come.

Olivier-Maxence Prosper - He has fallen off a bit these 4 games from his peak run, but the minutes are good enough where I wouldn’t consider dropping in most cases.

Jaylen Wells - Wells has quietly been on a top 100 run for the last month. We know his fantasy game is limited and uninspiring, but he should be considered a high floor stream option, and doesn’t carry risk for rested games unlike most of his teammates.

Javon Small - Small has a chance of random rests, but he can also theoretically play out the rest of his two-way contract minus 1 game. His upside is variable game to game with players constantly resting, and I think it makes sense to hold in most cases with more B2Bs on the way for Memphis, where Small is especially boosted.

Rayan Rupert - Playing a lot recently, with possibly his best game of the season last night. He’s running out of games on his two way deal, making it hard to trust for a stream

Ty Jerome - I don’t see a reason to hold on as he’s resting more than he’s playing lately

Brooklyn

Limited minutes across the board as they faced a fellow bad team in Memphis

Danny Wolf - He seems to get a significant boost whenever Claxton or Porter are out.

Nolan Traore - We’ve seen more than enough of him playing without Demin. Regardless, Traore’s floor is raised with Demin out for the season, and he remains a rosterable option.

GSW @ UTA

Golden State

Brandin Podziemski/Gui Santos - They keep rolling on as clear must roster players

De’Anthony Melton - Massive line in only 20 minutes. Only playing 20 minutes is ironically a huge positive as they kept his minutes low, and Melton will play his first back to back all season tonight. I was on the fence holding Melton with such a bad schedule for him with the amount of upcoming back to backs, but this changes everything, and he should be rostered.

Utah

Brice Sensabaugh - He doesn’t do much of anything else except score, and it can look really bad if that falls away. He’s streamable when players are out at the very best.

John Konchar - He is rosterable in this recent role. You’re mostly getting defensive stats with some rebounds.

Cody Williams - Playing well enough to at least be on stream radars.

Kyle Filipowski - Who has been the best waiver pickup in the second half of the season? I’m having a hard time considering anyone outside of Filipowski, who has entered into first round per game value over this 5 game sample.

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NYK @ LAC

Clippers

Kris Dunn - Decent enough line, but a lot of his appeal for streaming is diminished with Garland ramped up.

Brook Lopez/Isaiah Jackson - Some foul trouble for Jackson, but it’s safe to say that Jackson didn’t immediately take over Lopez like some would’ve hoped. I would likely hold Lopez, but every circumstance is different, and he can’t be a trust must roster.

Derrick Jones - His playing time has been very consistent, and is now boosted into a guy worth rostering for now with Collins out.

Orlando

Tristan da Silva - He has been able to float his value through this stretch with missed games for Black & Suggs. Black went down again last night, and da Silva becomes a rosterable option once again.

Minnesota

Ayo Dosunmu - Still overrostered, and barely even in stream consideration anymore

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BKN @ DET

Brooklyn

Ziaire Williams - I have no confidence in his role security, but he’s playing well enough to be in stream consideration.

Noah Clowney - Playing much better recently, and worth streaming as a high floor option

Detroit

Marcus Sasser - He surprisingly started for Ausar, and got a huge role boost with a line carried by 5 steals. They can easily pivot to a different direction in Ausar’s absence next game, and I don’t think there should be reliance to stream Sasser

PHI @ ATL

Philadelphia

Dominick Barlow - Probably a good add for the 5 game week, but he’s also been incredibly disappointing recently

Adem Bona/Andre Drummond - Bona started again and got the minutes, but both centers were mostly underwhelming. I would add Bona ahead of the 5 game week, but it’s a bit of a dice roll doing so.

Jabari Walker - The 5 game week makes him worth trying, but it’s a bit of a dice roll when he just entered the rotation 3 games ago

Quentin Grimes - Edgecombe was out again last night, and it looks like Maxey could miss time as well. Grimes would be an add already with those factors, and there’s no reason he should be left unrostered heading into the 5 game week.

Atlanta

Jonathan Kuminga - He’s missed two games in a row without a timetable, and Atlanta also has a bad upcoming schedule. I think he’s fine to drop if you want to stream the spot.

UTA @ MIL

Utah

Brice Senabaugh - Sometimes he can get hot, but with only 19 minutes I remain uninterested, and I believe he is overrostered

Cody Williams - Back to back games with huge minutes that came with serviceable production. He generally has one of the weaker fantasy games in the entire league, but he’s been starting and playing consistently for awhile now, and has a case to be streamed in playing this much.

Kyle Filipowski - He can’t stop delivering big lines. “Stashing” players rarely ever works, but sometimes you’re rewarded enough to know why stashing the allure that it does, and Filipowski will be the example to point to.

Milwaukee

Myles Turner - He’s seemingly playing less and less, and I’m more than fine to drop him if you want to stream the spot.

Ousmane Dieng - He continues to start in a fairly sizable role. The production has been on the low end of what he’s capable of, and I don’t mind rostering him when the schedule makes sense.

LAC @ MEM

Clippers

Isaiah Jackson - The Clippers opted for Jackson & small ball with Lopez benched for most of the game after the first quarter. This development is definitely noteworthy, but I’m not convinced that this will just be a regular thing now given the context of how it happened. Not a bad idea to take a shot at Jackson with 4 games in 6 nights to start the week, although it’s definitely risky.

Brook Lopez - Right when I finally say the overall numbers make him worth rostering, he brings a mega dud in the worst possible way. Perfectly fine if you want to drop him, and every situation is different.

Memphis

Ty Jerome - Great stuff this season whenever he plays especially considering the low minutes. He’s unfortunately rested 5 of the last 9 games, and Memphis plays 4 games this week that are 2 sets of back to backs. Jerome is basically guaranteed to only play 2 games this week, with a strong likelihood to never play more than 2 games in a week for the rest of the season. I don’t think he’s worth holding in most cases.

Walter Clayton/Javon Small - Predictable step down with every guard playing (minus morant), and I think they will both be usable throughout next week with 2 back to back sets for Memphis. I prefer Small, but it all depends how you value assists.

Olivier-Maxence Prosper - Not his best game, but I do believe he needs to be rostered.

Taylor Hendricks - He has played consistently well recently, with possibly his best game of the season last night. He should probably be rostered in standard leagues.

GSW @ OKC

Golden State

Gui Santos - The season of Gui rolls on, along with his must roster player status.

Kristaps Porzingis - It’s just good to see him out there, and this is the most he’s played since November. On the fantasy side, I don’t see any case for him to be rostered. He has not produced well at all in the scattered games he has played since late November. He’s already out Monday, with random games out almost a guarantee.

Oklahoma City

Jaylin Williams - Easy add whenever Hartenstein and/or Chet are out

Dallas

Khris Middleton - He continues to play a lot, and is a rosterable option in this role

Daniel Gafford - Best game in awhile for Gafford. Despite disappointment from our original expectations, the overall numbers look like he should be rosterable, but the rested back to backs significantly limit him from streaming consideration.

Max Christie - Decent stream guy, but he is significantly overrostered.

Orlando

Tristan da Silva - Line looks good enough, but the minutes were down significantly with Suggs & Black healthy. Can be held for the Sat/Sun B2B, but likely should be dropped after that

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UTA @ WAS

Utah

Kyle Filipowski - Really encouraging that he didn’t have any limitations these last two games when the score was close. Clear must roster player, and he’s significantly helping fantasy teams in playoffs now.

Isaiah Collier - Collier suffered a big role reduction upon George’s return, and he delivered tonight with George resting. He should probably be rostered still, but I don’t think he should be considered a must with George in the picture now.

John Konchar - Moved to the starting lineup tonight, and played a season high in minutes. Konchar has a weirdo fantasy profile that is heavily dominated by defensive stats, but he’s probably worth rostering if this role has a chance to stay.

Mo Bamba - Back to back intriguing enough games as he is a great per minute producer. Worth watching, but I’ll need a few more minutes to care in standard leagues.

Washington

Trae Young - Trae will be limited to 17-20 minutes every night, and he also injured his leg in tonight’s game. With that context, I don’t think he should be considered as a must, and probably only worth rostering when the schedule makes sense.

Julian Reese - Best game of his very short career by far. It’s really hard to trust streaming the random players like this that come out of nowhere, but Reese is playing a strong role since debuting 3 games ago, and he’s worth a look as long as Sarr remains out with a 5 game week in the week after next.

Will Riley - We streamed for the positive schedule which kinda worked. Now is likely the time to move on for the next guy.

Justin Champagnie - Healthy DNP tells you everything you need to know about his rosterability.

BKN @ MIA

Brooklyn

Michael Porter - Porter was a fade in draft season due to tanking concerns for Brooklyn, and he’s now a top 30 player in 9cat per game with no signs of slowing down.

Day’Ron Sharpe - He’s a low priority stream option when Claxton is healthy

Danny Wolf - He can’t be trusted unless Clowney, Porter, or Claxton is out.

Ziaire Williams - Seems to be a decent enough stream option with a solid upcoming schedule

Noah Clowney - He’s been playing better the last couple of weeks, but it’s definitely nothing to go crazy over outside of streaming.

Miami

Davion Mitchell - He’s been overrostered all season and quite bad lately

Pelle Larsson - High floor stream option

Kel’El Ware - Playing a lot of crossover with Adebayo recently, and it obviously helps that they’re winning. It took all season, but it’s paying off at the exact right time. 12 defensive stats tonight!

GSW @ HOU

Golden State

De’Anthony Melton - After a couple of down games and a rough schedule patch, Melton comes back with a banger, and surpassed a season high in minutes once again. The rested back to backs make it tough, but he should probably be rostered anyway.

Gui Santos - Continues to do must roster playing things

Al Horford - Horford can’t stop producing. Resting on back to backs makes it tough to roster in most standard leagues, but he has a case to just be rostered anyway.

Houston

Reed Sheppard - Continued his monster run tonight even with Jabari back, and closed the game. His production will suffer coming off the bench, but I think you can find several worse players on your roster you can drop to stream instead of Sheppard. He’s putting it all together at the perfect time.

DET @ SAS

Detroit

Ausar Thompson/Isaiah Stewart - Ausar left after 2 minutes tonight, and it’s safe to assume he misses time. We saw an extended sample of what to expect if he misses, and I don’t think there’s anyone interesting to go out of way to add, but Stewart is at least a high level stream.

San Antonio

Devin Vassell - After a strong run recently, I feel vindicated in saying the’s closer to a high level stream than a must roster.

TOR @ MIN

Toronto

Jakob Poeltl - I’m sorry for ever doubting you. He is actually playing like the old Poeltl with a regular workload, and needs to be rostered.

Minnesota

Donte DiVincenzo/Ayo Dosunmu - Ayo has creeped up a bit in the last 2 games, but it’s nothing we should react to

CHI @ PHO

Chicago

Collin Sexton - Huge game with Giddey, Buzelis, and multiple other players out. I’ve always been a bit lower on Sexton for 9cat production, but he’s soaking up a lot of usage in this Bulls offense currently, and is at least streamable in this role if you need points specifically.

Guerschon Yabusele - Season high in minutes as Yabusele has to play a lot with the current injury report in Chicago. He’s a decent add, but that could change any time if players start to come back, specifically Smith & Buzelis.

Nick Richards - Richards is the only healthy true center the Bulls have right now. His ceiling is not high at all, but he’s at least streamable in this role.

Leonard Miller - Miller got the start last night with Buzelis out, and he continues to be perpetually on the watchlist. He’d be an add if we knew he was going to start every game, but he remains an injury replacement guy for now.

Tre Jones - He’s been playing well recently as his minutes trend up post injury. He’s a streamable option regardless of health in Chicago, and I feel good about adding him if we knew the numerous injuries would persist.

Phoenix

Jalen Green - He has been destroying field goal % if you roster him, and not doing much else. He’s fine to move on from if you want to stream the spot.

Oso Ighodaro - Season high in minutes last night, and an easy add with Mark Williams out. He was outplaying Mark anyway, and a rosterable option in that timeshare, and the floor is greatly elevated now where he should not be left unrostered.

NOR @ SAC

New Orleans

Jeremiah Fears - Boosted with Murray resting. I don’t have the confidence to trust him in standard leagues.

Derik Queen - Minutes back up, and weirdly enough seems to have boosted with Murray out, as Missi was the replacement in the starting lineup. He’s fine to roster, but I remain uninterested most of the time.

Karlo Matkovic - Back in the rotation, and filling up box scores. I don’t think it’s crazy to say he’s the best center in New Orleans at the moment, and I wish he would just start every night. It’s not happening, and I also find it hard to trust for streaming purposes even, with DNP potential any night.

Sacramento

Malik Monk - This is like the 10th separate time this season where he got a random huge jump in playing time. No reason to trust this even for streaming purposes.

Precious Achiuwa - He is producing first round value over this stretch. A clear must roster player, and he has the chance to win a lot of leagues for those rostering him.

Nique Clifford - Down game, but remains a must roster player.

Devin Carter - Another random DNP

LAL @ DEN

Lakers

Deandre Ayton - Now is as great a time as ever to drop him after the injury and poor play.

Jaxson Hayes - Ayton left after 5 minutes last night, and Hayes stepped up. We’ve seen more than enough of a sample of Hayes this season, and last season to know his upside is not high at all, but he is at least a rosterable option while Ayton remains out.

Denver

Christian Braun - High floor stream option, but not necessarily a must.

Oklahoma City

Cason Wallace/Isaiah Joe - Neither are guys that need to be held in fantasy playoffs with SGA back

Jared McCain - He has nothing to do on a healthy team under normal circumstances in non-blowouts. I wouldn’t consider streaming unless multiple players are out in standard leagues

New York

Josh Hart - He’s been playing a lot less recently, hence the recent numbers fall off, and only closed the game tonight after KAT fouled out. New York has a good schedule, and I imagine there are at least 3 players on your roster more droppable than Hart, as frustrating as it has been.

Landry Shamet - Playing consistently, and worth looking towards for a stream with New York’s beneficial schedule

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CHA @ BOS

Charlotte

Coby White - His best game since arriving in Charlotte. The minutes remain too low to be sustainable in standard leagues, and he profiles as a high level stream option rather than anything more.

Moussa Diabate - He is the clear #1 center in Charlotte, and remains underrostered. Diabate is a clear must roster player.

Boston

Nikola Vucevic - Even in a game where Queta got hurt, Boston got blown out & Vuc was underwhelming once again. No reason to believe he needs to be rostered

Hugo Gonzalez - Came back to reality in a big way

Neemias Queta - Left the game early with injury and quickly returned. This was a blowout so it’s safe to ignore, and Queta needs to be rostered.

UTA @ PHI

Utah

Kyle Filipowski - Minutes were limited due to foul trouble tonight, but I find it very encouraging that he closed the game when it was close, and hasn’t shown any signs of being limited by the tank. Filipowski is a must roster player, and the game log shows it.

Ace Bailey - Role has remained steady, and I believe he needs to be rostered.

Isaiah Collier - George back has severely relegated Collier, but he is still rosterable in this role.

EJ Harkless - He’s just not good enough to bother, even in this starting role.

Mo Bamba - Bamba entered the rotation, and got extra run tonight with Filipowski in foul trouble. I doubt he becomes relevant in standard leagues, but he’s a good enough per minute producer where he should be on watchlists.

Brice Sensabaugh - No reason to roster Sensabaugh, and even for streaming purposes you can likely do better.

Philadelphia

Adem Bona/Andre Drummond - Bona randomly started tonight over Drummond, and our add of Drummond ahead of the B2B & 5 games next week failed tremendously. I likely wouldn’t be rostering either player with 1 game in the next 4 nights, but we’ll at least get one more sample in that time to determine if Bona can be trusted to add ahead of the 5 game week.

Dominick Barlow/Jabari Walker - They got the boost with Embiid out, and Edgecombe & Oubre resting tonight. I like Barlow as a high floor stream in this starting role, but there’s no reason to add or trust Walker because of this game.

POR @ MEM

Portland

Jerami Grant - We have officially reached March and Jerami Grant has played 19 consecutive games averaging 31 MPG over his last 13.

Robert Williams - Clingan was ejected tonight, and Williams is 2 for 2 with big lines recently in Clingan’s absence. He’s doing enough in regular games anyway to be worth holding, and it looks he’s somehow about to have a top 100 season as a backup center.

Scoot Henderson - He’s not doing nearly enough to be rosterable

Memphis

Olivier-Maxence Prosper - He is going to have ups and downs, and could lose a lot of value when/if the Memphis frontcourt gets healthy. That being said, he should be rostered for now, and the new contract helps to alleviate a lot of concerns about ROS value.

Javon Small - He has produced like a must roster player when given the opportunity. Unfortunately, the two-way deal makes it tough to trust with a DNP last night.

Walter Clayton - There have been a few different factors at play with players out, and a blowout to produce these numbers, but his minutes have been up prior to that regardless. He’s worth adding when you know there will be other guards out, and I like the upcoming 5 games in 7 nights to plug him in.

GG Jackson - Has been doing must roster player things for awhile.

Jaylen Wells - Great high floor stream option with Memphis’ upcoming schedule

ATL @ MIL

Atlanta

Jonathan Kuminga - Randomly out, and this, along with a weak schedule is why he is not a must roster player in most leagues, and I’m likely moving on after tonight

CJ McCollum - If you’re desperate in playoffs, you might have to make a tough call with Atlanta’s awful schedule coming up

Milwaukee

Ryan Rollins - He just always seems to find a way. I hope you didn’t overreact and drop after last game with Porter out

Ousmane Dieng - Foul trouble and bad shooting last night, but it looks like the preferred pairing with Giannis, and elevated minutes are a real thing. He’s worth watching in this role.

Myles Turner - He seems to be in this low minutes role indefinitely, and hasn’t played that well all season. I don’t think he’s someone that needs to be committed to in standard leagues. A really disappointing season overall for Turner, and he’ll be a fun name to discuss next draft season.

Kyle Kuzma - I wouldn’t go near him for streaming purposes after that random DNP the game prior. Even in this role, there are likely better options you can find.

Bobby Portis - He will likely be able to float his value with Turner being limited, but I wouldn’t consider him a must

IND @ LAC

Indiana

Micah Potter - Hard to tell exactly what limited him with the combination of an ankle issue & Siakam’s return. If you added, I’d likely hold and reevaluate again when needed.

Jay Huff - The minutes have been extremely consistent, and I believe he needs to be rostered by someone in your league.

Aaron Nesmith - Not someone I’m looking to roster

Jarace Walker - The shooting is always the concern, but he’s a clear must roster player

Clippers

Brook Lopez - Minutes down in the blowout. Fine to roster, but not a must.

Isaiah Jackson - Konan Niederhauser will likely miss time, and Jackson is at least worth watching. If he can establish a role with minutes in the low 20s he could have some value, but most of these minutes were in garbage time.

Derrick Jones/Kris Dunn - High level stream candidates, and likely holds with the Friday/Saturday back to back.

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Rostering An Injured Player Outside Of An IL Spot

I don’t care how valuable the player can be, or when they’re expected to return, there is basically no reason to hold an IL eligible player outside of IL in fantasy playoffs. Take an honest assessment at all of your injured players, and make the tough decision on who the most valuable ones are through projected return date, and per game value when they actually return. Cut the least valuable player(s) that are injured that don’t fit into an open IL spot. Maximizing every spot on your roster is crucial to winning matchups in fantasy playoffs, and you can get a significant value boost from a week of a stream spot instead of an injured player taking 0s. Rest of season value means nothing if your season ends on Sunday, and there’s nothing more painful than the regret of losing a close matchup that you would’ve won if you were simply more aggressive with your roster moves.

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Dropping A Player Who Plays Same Day

In the regular season, this move makes perfect sense. If a speculative add pops up that you think should be rostered to see what happens, it’s perfectly fine in normal circumstances to drop someone that plays later that day. In the context of fantasy playoffs, this makes no sense. “Speculative adds” in the traditional sense do not exist at this point of the season. You are much better off letting the player you want to drop play out the game that night, and drop them the morning after for the next best streamer with an optimized schedule. This rule even applies if you want to swap streamers that both play the same night. Even if player A on waivers is clearly more valuable that night than player B, it’s not worth wasting an add just to benefit from the potential difference from player A & player B, when you can drop player B the following day and get player B’s stats, along with a full game of the next best option the following day.

One Game Streams

Streaming a player just for one game, and dropping them the next day makes no sense. Any add you make in fantasy playoffs should be adding a player with some sort of a schedule advantage, and at least not someone with a schedule disadvantage. I typically target players with a back to back, 3 games in 4 nights, or 4 games in 6 nights, or at least a neutral schedule with 2 games in 3 nights or 3 games in 5 nights works fine as well. It doesn’t matter how many weekly adds your league allows. Even if it’s a league with 7+ adds per week, all that means is that you should open up more streaming spots in order to cycle players through at maximum efficiency that have a schedule advantage.

WAS @ ORL

Washington

They only had 9 players active tonight. Washington could barely field a team, hence why the minutes are elevated

Will Riley - Minutes have been elevated for awhile now, and Riley is rosterable in this role.

Justin Champagnie - Doing enough lately to be rosterable, but this game is fairly meaningless given the context.

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Orlando

Goga Bitadze - Old friend is back. I doubt Carter misses any time, but Goga is worth streaming whenever Carter is out

Tristan da Silva - Elevated role with Franz out recently, and is a great add ahead of Orlando’s 3 games in 4 nights starting Thursday through Sunday.

DAL @ CHA

Dallas

Daniel Gafford - Rosterable production, but he is droppable, especially with the back to back uncertainty

Brandon Williams - I expect him to lose a bit of value with Flagg about to return, but he is at least streamable with a good upcoming schedule.

Khris Middleton - I’m very interested if he plays the Thu/Fri back to back. If so, he’s a nice stream option in this role.

Charlotte

Moussa Diabate - Make Sure he’s rostered

DET @ CLE

Detroit

Ausar Thompson - Ausar is starting to finally turn it up and produce like the player we drafted him to be just in time for fantasy playoffs.

Cleveland

Jaylon Tyson - He has played well as an injury replacement all season, but not someone that needs to be held with Cleveland off for the next 4 days.

Thomas Bryant - He could possibly be an add if Allen misses time, but Cleveland has 4 days off now so there is no reason to add him at the moment.

Dennis Schroder - Closed the game with Allen out

BKN @ MIA

Brooklyn

Day’Ron Sharpe - Doesn’t need to be held with Claxton back

Michael Porter - Blowout game, but he has really shown no sign of slowing down

Nolan Traore - He is not doing nearly enough to be must roster

Danny Wolf - Another solid game, but he’s not playing nearly enough to trust unless someone in the frontcourt is out.

Miami

Kel’El Ware - Playing a good amount of crossover with Bam recently, and you hold and hope it continues through the playoffs.

NYK @ TOR

Toronto

Jakob Poeltl - Not his best game, but the amount he is playing tells it all that he should be rostered.

MEM @ MIN

Memphis

Ty Jerome - He’s producing really well when given the opportunity, but I don’t think he can be trusted in fantasy playoffs with the risk of random rested games.

Jaylen Wells - He’s playing well enough to be a high floor stream

Olivier-Maxence Prosper - He was bound to have a game like this. Hold for now as they play tomorrow, but I don’t think he’s a must with the contract uncertainty

Minnesota

Ayo Dosunmu - No reason to keep him rostered

SAS @ PHI

Third string players were in very early into this game in a huge blowout from the start. I would ignore this game completely

OKC @ CHI

Oklahoma City

With SGA & Harenstein resting, there’s not much to takeaway here.

Jaylin Williams - He’s capable of delivering big lines when given the opportunity, and he’s worth adding when Hartenstein is out.

Chicago

Guerschon Yabusele - Yabusele has been rosterable in this starting role, and is worth adding when the schedule makes sense.

Nick Richards - He’s been playing a lot more recently, and presents himself as a streamable option when the schedule makes sense

Leonard Miller - Severely relegated unfortunately and played in garbage time

NOR @ LAL

New Orleans

Derik Queen - We just can’t deal with the shenanigans of holding him

Jeremiah Fears - There isn’t enough for him to do on a fully healthy team, making it hard to trust even for streaming purposes

Karlo Matkovic - Healthy DNP after playing really well prior

Lakers

Deandre Ayton - I can’t consider him a must

PHO @ SAC

Phoenix

Mark Williams - His lines lately have been underwhelming almost every game. I wouldn’t be committed to holding him.

Royce O’Neale - He can be looked to as a “safe” stream at this time in the season.

Oso Ighodaro - He’s starting to outplay Mark Williams more games than not, and this production is at least worth streaming in.

Devin Booker - Obviously a bit rusty, but he played a lot more than we could’ve hoped

Sacramento

DeMar DeRozan - You will have no regrets if you drop him to stream the spot.

Maxime Raynaud - He’s basically been everything we could’ve hoped for and more. I wonder what percentage of teams that win it all will have Raynaud rostered.

Precious Achiuwa - Season high in minutes last night, as Achiuwa continues to produce with no sign of slowing down. Clear must roster player, and top 25 over this stretch.

Nique Clifford - He’s averaging 34 MPG over the last month. The role couldn’t get any more secure, as he’s playing a lot, and the production is finally starting to come around consistently. Clear must roster player.

Houston

Tari Eason - His frustrating recent production peaked with an ejection today. Even if you’re in playoffs, there are still likely worse players you can drop as frustrating as Eason has been recently.

Reed Sheppard - Sheppard has been playing some of his best basketball recently, which peaked with likely the best game of his career tonight. Boosted with Jabari out, and Eason getting ejected, and could be further boosted with Amen leaving early tonight. He’s been a must roster player for a couple weeks now, and has the chance to blast off in fantasy playoffs if Amen indeed misses time.

Washington

There’s not a single player on this team that I don’t consider droppable when the schedule doesn’t favor them

Justin Champagnie - Champagnie played the most he has in over a month tonight. It’s tough to play roulette with random missed games, but he’s doing enough in this lower minute role to stream when the schedule makes sense.

Julian Reese - Hilariously got a spot start in his NBA debut. No interest in any league type.

Will Riley - Nothing impressive tonight, or recently for that matter, but he’s seemingly leading the team in minutes every game, and is probably the most valuable Wizard at the moment. So far so good if you listened and streamed him in for the bulk stream advantage.

BOS @ MIL

Boston

Nikola Vucevic - Spot start with Queta out

Hugo Gonzalez - Spot start with Brown out, and erupted for the best game of his career. I think you can do much better if you’re looking to stream someone in standard leagues, but this is at least a pleasurable line to rest your eyeballs on.

Baylor Scheierman - He’s been a high floor, low ceiling stream option in this starting role

Milwaukee

Myles Turner - Outside of a few stretches, this has been a very poor fantasy season for Turner, and I’m fine to drop if you’re in playoffs. He’ll be a very interesting name to discuss next draft season.

Ryan Rollins - Moved to the bench with Giannis back, but this is also not the first time this has happened for Rollins where he was benched, and still salvaged value. Anything goes at this point in the season in fantasy playoffs, but I’m likely holding ad this game was weird.

Cam Thomas - I have a theory that his roster percentage is so high, because there is strong overlap in the bad fantasy teams that missed the playoffs, and those teams rostering Cam Thomas

Ousmane Dieng - Started over Rollins with Giannis returning. I’m leaning towards this move being a regular thing as Dieng supposedly has developed chemistry with Giannis as quoted by Doc. We’re not in the business of speculative adds in fantasy playoffs, but this is at least worth watching, and streaming Dieng when the schedule makes sense.

DEN @ UTA

Denver

Jonas Valanciunas - Random spot start next to Jokic with Johnson out, and 3 other frontcourt members. Only 17 minutes, and we can ignore this outside of a stream if it somehow ever happens again

Christian Braun - Doing enough to stay at the back end of rosters, but at this point in playoffs, it’s completely reasonable to stream the spot with 2 day off Tue/Wed.

Jamal Murray - Top 10 player this season

Utah

Keyonte George - I’m surprised Utah is letting him do this and play this much. I’d be very nervous about how long this lasts

Kyle Filipowski - Filipowski has been shenanigan-free for the last couple of weeks now, and fingers crossed that holds as it’s looking like the stash has finally paid off.

Isaiah Collier - Relegated largely with Keyonte back. He’s likely a hold, especially with a decent upcoming schedule for Utah.

EJ Harkless - Just another example of a “random” player who has a few decent games, and is really hard to trust given the randomness of how they’ve arrived to that role. (I need a term for this phenomenon

Brice Sensabaugh - He’s a stream for points & threes at best

Oscar Tshiebwe - His first real run of the season, and is worth watching if this continues, especially in deep leagues. Tshiebwe is an elite per minute rebounder.

Mo Bamba - Signed midseason with Toronto > never plays > signs a 10 day with Utah > never plays

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LAC @ GSW

Clippers

Kris Dunn - Huge night continues a strong run of games, but with Garland ramping up, Dunn will lose a significant amount of streaming value

Yanic Konan Niederhauser - Best game of his career outplaying Lopez, and worth watching if his minutes rise

Brook Lopez - Nights like these are why it’s hard to consider him a must

Golden State

De’Anthony Melton - Just a bad shooting night, but the minutes are very encouraging. It’s not easy to hold with the upcoming schedule, but I’m likely doing it in most cases.

Gui Santos - Moved to the bench, but didn’t really impact him at all, and needs to be rostered.

Al Horford - He might be one of the most underrated players in fantasy at the moment. Top 70 player over the last 5 weeks. Golden State unfortunately has too many back to backs coming up to make him worth holding, but should be considered must roster in any games cap formats

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